System and method for the configuration of resources in resource groups

ABSTRACT

A system and method is provided for managing resource groups in a computer system having automatic availability capability. In one embodiment, a method is provided which may be performed in a computer system comprising a plurality of resources, a monitor for monitoring at least some of the plurality of resources, and an agent to configure resource groups, each resource group specifying a group of resources to be monitored by the monitor. The method comprises: (A) in response to a request from a requestor, received by the agent, to configure at least a portion of a resource group, the request specifying at least one parameter of the at least a portion of the resource group, determining at least one characteristic of at least one of the plurality of resources that satisfies the at least one parameter; and (B) presenting to the requestor the at least one characteristic determined in (A) to satisfy the at least one parameter.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/592,064, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHODFOR MANAGING RESOURCE GROUPS,” filed on Jul. 29, 2004, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to managing resource groups in a computersystem having an automatic availability capability.

BACKGROUND

With some computer systems, the operation of the system is largelytransparent to the end user. For example, employees of a company orcustomers of a business may be provided with various applications and/orservices, and/or access to data or a network, without being aware of thelocation from which these services are being provided, or details aboutthe implementation of the computer system. A system administrator may,for example, establish the services available to an end user on one ormore servers interconnected via a network. This “enterprise system”model allows the administrator to centralize the installation ofapplications, customization of the system, establishment of accesspermissions, and general operation of the system to ensure that desiredservices are available to the end users.

An enterprise system may be, for example, a collection of one or moredevices interconnected via a computer network to perform a desiredfunction or to carry out various operations of any organization, such asa business organization. An enterprise system may vary widely in scale,such that a single computer or thousands of devices widely distributedover multiple locations may constitute an enterprise system. Anenterprise system may provide various services to its end users orclients over a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN),wireless network, other network, other types of communication media, ora combination thereof.

An enterprise system is considered “available” when an end userperceives that applications and services are running and operatingcorrectly. High availability may be important to many enterprisesystems, such as systems which support electronic commerce (e-commerce)or other types of systems that users expect to be substantiallyfunctional on a continuous basis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

In the drawings, in which like reference numerals represent likeelements:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an exemplary system on which automatedavailability software may be implemented;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an exemplary architecture for anautomated availability system implemented according to embodiments ofthe invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an exemplary process for creating aresource group for monitoring a resource according to embodiments of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an exemplary process for validating aresource or characteristic to be included in a resource group accordingto one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an exemplary process for modifying ordeleting a resource group according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system having two instances of aparticular type of resource that are installed at different locations ondifferent computers and which may be reflected in a same resource groupin accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an exemplary system which includes agraphical user interface (GUI) having a display which is customizedbased on resources which are monitored on the system; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a system having an architecture which,allows an administrator to create a resource group without logging on toeach node on which resources included in the resource group resideaccording to one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention are directed to monitoring resource groupsin a computer system.

To increase availability, multiple servers on which applications and/orservices execute may be interconnected in a cluster to provide, interalia, redundant service. That is, when one of the servers malfunctions,another server may take over and provide any of the various servicesprovided by the failed server to the end user. In this manner, importantdata, services and/or functionality can be distributed over a networksuch that if one location (e.g., a primary site or server) malfunctionsor otherwise becomes unavailable, the functionality and/or services maybe transitioned to another location (e.g., a secondary site or server).To ensure that the transition of service from one server to another issubstantially transparent to the user and to prevent the loss of data,it may be desirable to periodically or continuously replicate dataacross the network, such as by data mirroring or active replication.However, as the number of servers and/or services provided by anenterprise system increases, data replication and other administrationof the system may become complicated, making high availability difficultfor an administrator to sustain. Moreover, an administrator may notalways be immediately available to remedy problems, and some problemsmay be difficult for an administrator to diagnose and/or correct.

Automatic availability (AA) software has been employed to reduceavailability interruptions that may be costly to an organization vialost business, lost productivity or lost data. For example, variousautomated availability products are available, such as the AutomatedAvailability Manager from Legato Software, a division of EMC Corporationof Hopkinton, Mass. In general, AA products provide capabilities tomanage system performance and automate failure recovery, data mirroringand replication, and other functions.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary system 1000 on which an AA product maybe deployed. System 1000 includes a cluster 100 having a plurality ofnodes (e.g., servers) 110A-110D interconnected over a network 155.Network 155 may be any type of network that permits communicationbetween the servers. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, network155 is a dedicated network. That is, hub 160 handles only communicationsbetween the servers 110 in the cluster 100 via network connections155A-155D. Alternatively, network 155 may be part of a larger networkthat includes any of various clients or end users, network devices, etc.

System 1000 also includes network 165, which may include a LAN, WAN, theInternet, other network, or combination thereof. Network 165 providesconnectivity between several end users 170 and servers 110 to facilitateend user access to cluster 100. An end user may include, for example, aclient computer or other device having network-based access to one ormore server resources. Networks 155 and 165 may, for example, form asingle network, may be connected through a portal or gateway to eachother, and may be connected to one or more additional networks. In thisrespect, it should be appreciated that system 1000 may be implemented onany number of different network types, topologies and configurationswhich permit multiple servers to communicate with each other and allowone or more end users to access various server resources.

To any of end users 170, cluster 100 may be perceived as a singleresource. For example, cluster 100 may provide access to any number ofapplications, such as a word processing application, an electronic mail(e-mail) service, database resource(s), or other application. Cluster100 may implement any of numerous services or functions, such as anonline banking service, a website permitting the electronic purchase ofmerchandise, a company intranet, or another service or function.

An administrator may be responsible for maintaining the availability ofthe resources provided by cluster 100 to end users 170, for removingand/or adding resources to the cluster, and in general for ensuring thatthe cluster is operational and available. AA software may be installedto aid in these tasks. For example, an automatic availability manager(AAM) 180 may be installed on cluster 100 to aid in monitoring any ofthe various resources provided by the cluster. In FIG. 1, the AAM isdistributed across the nodes in the cluster, such that an agent180A-180D of the AAM is installed on each node, but other configurationsare possible. AAM 180 may, for example, include software instructionsencoded in a memory or other type of computer readable medium availableto the cluster, and may be executed on one or more processors availableto the cluster (e.g., a processor resident on one or more nodes in thecluster). In this respect, AAM 180 may be installed on one or more ofnodes 110 on the cluster 100, and may be capable of performing anynumber of functions related to monitoring, ensuring availability, anddiagnosing or correcting problems in the cluster.

AAM 180 may, for example, provide functionality which enables any numberof the resources provided by cluster 100 to be monitored or controlled.AA software generally provides functionality for monitoring orcontrolling a collection of resources in a “resource group.” A resourcegroup generally refers to a group of one or more resources to bemonitored, and the “infrastructure” (e.g., one or more data structures,commands, parameters and/or attributes) which enable the resource(s) tobe monitored and/or controlled by the AA software. Typically, a resourcegroup is established to monitor one or more resources when the resourcesare installed. A resource group may define any attribute related tomonitoring and/or controlling the resource(s). For example, a resourcegroup created to monitor a database application may include proceduresfor starting and/or shutting down the application, commands forresponding to diagnostic information produced by the application duringits operation, and information identifying failover hardware to host theapplication program in the event that the device on which theapplication is executing fails.

A resource monitored by AA software may be any entity that may bemonitored and/or controlled, such as a service, application process,system path or other logical address, IP address, node (e.g., a storagedevice or server), network information card (NIC), network device (e.g.,a router or bridge), computer alias (e.g., a NETBEUI or NETBIOSidentifier), database or any other entity suitable for monitoring orcontrol.

A resource group may be configured to take any of numerous actionsautomatically upon the occurrence of a predetermined event. In oneexample, a resource group created for monitoring a database applicationmay be configured to automatically respond to information provided bythe application, such as by sending an email to an administrator whenthe application's transaction rate reaches a particular threshold. Inanother example, a resource group may receive an administrator's commandto start the database application, and may execute a series of detailedsteps in response to the command to ensure that the database applicationis initiated properly.

Conventionally, a resource group is set up by an administrator whoprovides information to AA software on the resource(s) to be monitored.A conventional system employs one or more modules which enable theadministrator to provide the information necessary to establish aresource group, with each module being customized for a particular typeof resource to be monitored. Specifically, a conventional module definesfunctionality, typically provided in the form of one or more scripts,for presenting a series of prompts to an administrator to collectinformation necessary to create a resource group for a particular typeof resource. For example, a module corresponding to a databaseapplication may define a script which prompts the administrator for,inter alia, the IP address of the node on which the application executesand/or the storage device(s) on which data managed by the applicationresides. Upon receiving the information, the software may employ it tomake insertions into a data structure, such as a text file, which maythen be employed by a procedure provided by the AA software to createthe resource group that monitors the resource.

Applicants have appreciated that conventional approaches for configuringand monitoring a resource group suffer from several drawbacks.

First, once a procedure is executed which creates a resource group, theresource group can not be modified or deleted using conventionaltechniques. Thus, for example, if an already-established resource groupmonitors a service (e.g., an e-mail service) which includes one or moredatabases, and a new database is desired to be added to the service andthe resource group, the resource group may not be modified to monitorthe new database. In addition, if an administrator makes a mistake inproviding the information to create a resource group, the resource groupmay not be modified to correct the error. This is because once theprocedure to create the resource group is executed, a variety ofentities (e.g., routines, parameters and/or data structures)implementing the resource group are created, but the collection of thoseentities is not identified to the administrator, and there is noidentifiable entity to communicate with to make the desiredmodification. Even re-executing the procedure creates a new resourcegroup, rather than replacing the one which had already been created.

Second, to configure a resource group in a conventional system, anadministrator is required to log on to each node on which a resource tobe included in the resource group resides. Thus, if a resource group isto include resources which reside on four different nodes, theadministrator is required to log on to each of the four nodes.Applicants have appreciated that the ability to create a resource groupwithout having to log on to each node may provide administrativeflexibility.

Third, conventional systems require an administrator to manually inputinformation to identify resources which are to be monitored. Thisintroduces the possibility that errors may be made in identifying aresource. Applicants have appreciated that such errors can be minimizedby automatically detecting the resources that are possible for inclusionin a resource group and presenting those possibilities to theadministrator for selection, so that the administrator need not manuallyidentify the resources.

Similarly, Applicants have further appreciated that some resources(and/or characteristics thereof) to be included in a resource group maybe determined in an automated fashion, so that no input at all need beprovided by the administrator to specify such resources and/orcharacteristics.

Fourth, conventional resource groups that include a resource which isinstalled on more than one node require that the resource be configuredin the same manner on each of the nodes. For example, resource groupsthat include an instance of a database application executing on morethan one node require that the application be installed at the same pathon each node. Applicants have appreciated that flexibility with regardto resource configuration on different nodes may be advantageous sothat, for example, the configuration may make the best use of eachnode's available resources.

Fifth, conventional systems do not perform any validation on theparameters, attributes and other entities specified for a resourcegroup. Thus, if an error is made in specifying an invalid resourcegroup, the error is not discovered until the system attempts to invokethe invalidly specified resource group. For example, if a resource groupspecified a non-existent device as one to which a resource (e.g., adatabase application) should be moved in the event of a failure, thiswould not be determined until a failure of the primary resourceoccurred, and a transition to the non-existent device was attempted. Asa result, conventional resource groups may ineffectively define theactions that should occur upon the failure of a resource and/or may notmonitor the resource as desired by an administrator. Applicants haveappreciated that the ability to validate a resource group at creationmay be desirable.

Sixth, conventional systems do not provide a user interface for creatingresource groups which has a display that may be customized depending onthe resources residing on the system. Applicants have appreciated that auser interface with this capability may provide numerous advantages overconventional systems, such as flexibility with respect to thedevelopment and maintenance of the user interface.

Seventh, conventional systems do not provide a user interface formonitoring one or more resource groups which has a display that may becustomized depending on the resources residing on the system. Applicantshave appreciated that a user interface with this capability may alsoprovide numerous advantages over conventional systems, such as theability to monitor more than one resource group at a time, and/or theability to view information which is specific to each resource groupbeing monitored.

According to various embodiments of the invention, techniques areprovided which may be employed by a user (e.g., an administrator) tocreate, maintain and administer one or more resource groups.

In one embodiment, a tool is provided for creating a resource groupwhich may automatically discover one or more resources, orcharacteristics thereof, which are to be included in the resource group.As a result, the user need not manually specify the automaticallydiscovered resources(s) or characteristic(s). The tool may be configuredto determine particular resources and/or characteristics without theuser's input, and/or based in part on user input.

In another embodiment, an administrator need not log on to each node onwhich a resource to be included in a resource group resides in order tocreate the resource group.

In yet another embodiment, a resource group can be formed including atleast one type of resource executing on multiple computers or nodes,wherein the resource is configured differently on at least two of thenodes. This provides for flexibility with respect to the configurationof resources on different nodes.

In a further embodiment, one or more resources or characteristicsthereof requested for inclusion in a resource group are checked atcreation time to determine their validity. Validation ensures that aninvalid resource or characteristic specified by a user is notincorporated into a resource group, and that the error is detected atcreation time for the resource group so that it can be remedied.

In another embodiment, a technique is provided for enabling modificationand/or deletion of an existing resource group. For example, a record ofacts performed to create the resource group may be maintained, such asthe entities that are created to collectively comprise the resourcegroup. As a result, a user may modify or delete any or all of theseentities to modify or delete the resource group after its creation.

In yet another embodiment, a GUI is provided for creating resourcegroups which has a display that is customized depending on the resourcesinstalled on the system. For example, the GUI may recognize that newresources have been installed on the system, and present a display whichadapts depending on the presence of those resources.

In still another embodiment, a GUI is provided for monitoring resourcegroups which has a display that is customized according to the resourcesresiding on the system. The GUI may include more than one displayportion, so that each display portion may present information related tomonitoring a specific resource group. As a result, an administrator mayview information related to monitoring more than one resource at a time,and may view information which is specific to each resource group beingmonitored in each display portion.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary architecture for a system implementedaccording to various embodiments of the invention. The system of FIG. 2includes a console 212 executing on a device 210. Device 210 maycomprise any suitable device, such as a host computer, server or othercomputing device that has a processor to execute code that implementsthe console. Console 212 may be implemented in any of various ways, suchas with instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium (e.g., amemory or other storage device) accessible to, and executed by, theprocessor on device 210. Console 212 may, for example, includeinstructions which define the presentation of a graphical user interface(GUI) to a user of device 210, such that the user may provide one ormore commands or other input via the GUI to create, modify and/or deletea resource group in a manner described further below.

Console 212 communicates with an agent 232, which executes on device230. Agent 232 may be implemented in any of various ways, such as withinstructions encoded on a computer-readable medium (e.g., a memory orother storage device) which is accessible to, and executed by, aprocessor in the device 230. In the examples shown in FIG. 2, agent 232is installed as software on the same device 230 on which one or moreresources 235, 237 may also execute, and can manage (e.g., gatherinformation concerning) those local resources in a manner discussedbelow. Alternatively, agent 232 may be installed on a device separatefrom (e.g., in network-based communication with) a node on which aresource resides that is managed by the agent, and in such anembodiment, the device on which the agent is installed can be anycomputing device capable of executing the agent. Device 230 may compriseany suitable device, such as a server which forms part of cluster 100(FIG. 1), a storage system or any other device having one or moreresources to be monitored.

Communication between console 212 and agent 232 occurs via network 220,which may be implemented via any suitable communications protocol and/orinfrastructure, such as a LAN, WAN, the Internet, other network, or acombination thereof. Communication via a network allows the console 212to execute on a device 210 which is remote from the device 230 on whichthe agent 232 executes, such that the console can be, for example, inanother room, another building, or another city from the agent 232. Assuch, a user who employs console 212 in one location may be able toconfigure a resource group that includes resources in another (e.g.,remote) location. For example, a user may employ console 212 to issueinstructions via network 220 to agent 232 to configure a resource groupfor monitoring resources 235 and 237, and the agent 232 may execute theinstructions to create a resource group for monitoring those resources.For example, in one embodiment, the console 212 provides a graphicaluser interface (GUI) to enable an administrator to create and/orconfigure a resource group. The GUI is described in greater detailbelow.

Unlike conventional systems, wherein an administrator creating aresource group is required to log on to each node on which a resource tobe included in the group resides, some embodiments of the inventionprovide a capability whereby an administrator may configure a resourcegroup without logging onto every node that includes a resource to beincluded in the group. This can be done in any of numerous ways, as thisaspect of the invention is not limited to any particular implementationtechnique.

For example, in one embodiment, an administrator may provideconfiguration commands to a first agent executing on a first node ontowhich the administrator has logged in, and the first agent maycommunicate with one or more other agents executing on other nodes tocreate a resource group which includes resources on the other node(s).For example, FIG. 8 shows a system representing a variation of thesystem of FIG. 2, wherein a console 212 communicates via network 220with agent 232 executing on device (or node) 230. Resources 235 and 237also reside on device 230. Also included in the system of FIG. 8 aredevices 250 and 270, on which agents 252 and 272 reside, respectively.Resources 255, 257 and 259 are installed on device 250, and areresources 275 and 277 are installed on device 270.

An administrator may employ console 212 to issue instructions vianetwork 220 to log into device 230, and to instruct agent 232 to createa resource group for monitoring resources which do not reside on device230. For example, a user may issue instructions to agent 232 to includeresources 257, 259 and resource 275 in the resource group. Uponreceiving the instructions, agent 232 on device 230 may communicate vianetwork 220 with agent 252 on device 250 and agent 272 on device 270.For example, agent 232 may communicate information related to resources257 and 259 with agent 250, and information related to resource 275 withagent 272. In this respect, agent 232 may be considered a lead agent forcreating the resource group, and the agents 252 and 272 may beconsidered subordinate agents which take direction from the lead agent.As a result, an administrator need not log on to each of devices 230,250 and 270 to create a resource group which includes resources residingon these devices. Thus, the administrator may create a resource groupwhich includes resources on devices that the administrator may not haveaccess privileges to access.

It should be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention describedherein that enable a resource group to be configured from a deviceremote from the one on which AA software is executing, and which do notrequire an administrator to log on to each node on which a resource tobe included in a resource group resides, can be used with the otherembodiments of the invention described herein, or can be used separatelytherefrom. In addition the other aspects of the invention describedherein are independent of the remote configuration and login concepts,so that not all embodiments of the invention are limited to use with asystem that provides these capabilities.

Although FIG. 2 shows resources 235, 237 residing on the same device 230as the agent 232, the embodiments of the invention described herein arenot limited in this respect, as the agent 232 may facilitate monitoringa resource in any location. For example, an agent may be installed onany of nodes 110 (FIG. 1) as part of the AAM 180 and facilitatemonitoring one or more resources on other devices and accessible to theagent via either of networks 155, 165. For example, an agent executingon device 110A may monitor a resource executing on any of devices110A-110D or 170A-170F.

In one embodiment of the invention (shown in FIG. 2), the software forcreating resource groups if modularized to facilitate ease ofprogramming, so that separate modules can be written to support theformation of resource groups with different types of resources. Modules234, 236 are accessible to agent 232 on device 230. Modules 234, 236 maybe implemented in any of various ways, such as with one or more datastructures, parameters, attributes and/or instructions encoded on acomputer-readable medium which is accessible to agent 232. In oneembodiment, each of modules 234, 236 provides functionality to agent 232related to configuring a resource group which includes a particular typeof resource. For example, modules 234 and 236 may define functionalityfor creating a resource group including resources 235 and 237,respectively. In one embodiment, the system provides flexibility increating resource groups for various types of resources. Specifically,while modules 234 and 236 define functionality for creating a resourcegroup including resources 235 and 237, respectively (i.e., modules 234,236 are specific to particular resources), the agent 212 and console 232are generic to all resources. This is advantageous in that when it isdesired to support the creation of a resource group for a new type ofresource, all that need be created is a new module which can then workwith the common console and agent.

As discussed above, a resource may include any type of entity which maybe monitored or controlled. Thus, different modules may define differentapproaches for monitoring heterogeneous resources. For example, module234 may define functionality for configuring a resource group to monitora database application, and module 236 may define functionality forconfiguring a resource group to monitor a storage system, or any othertype of resource. It should be appreciated that while the modularizationtechniques described herein are advantageous, not all embodiments of theinvention are limited to a modular implementation.

A resource group may define any of numerous functions related tomonitoring a resource. For example, in one embodiment, a resource groupmay define attributes of a resource, a sequence of actions to initializethe resource, and/or a sequence of actions to stop the resource. Forexample, a resource group for a database application may include a startsequence for the application, which may specify an IP address for thenode on which the application executes, one or more storage devices onwhich data which is to be managed by the database application resides,one or more processes for the database application (e.g., the listenerprocess), and/or a proxy process, which may provide more detail aboutapplication functions, such as its transaction rate and/or the load itplaces on the CPU. The resource group may receive information from theresource during its operation defining whether the resource is runningproperly. If it is determined that the resource is running improperly,rules defined by the resource group may define actions to be taken inresponse. For example, if a resource is determined to be runningimproperly on a first node, the rules provided by the resource group maydefine that the resource should be shut down on the first node, andinitialized on a second node.

In one embodiment, the console 212 implements a GUI to provide aninterface to the administrator for configuring and/or monitoring one ormore resource groups. When the administrator desires to set up aresource group for a particular resource, the GUI may invokefunctionality defined by a module corresponding to the resource. Themodule may provide instructions and/or parameters to the console, suchthat the GUI presented by the console requests the information from theadministrator used to establish the resource group. As the module can becustomized for particular resources, in one embodiment the GUI'sproduced in conjunction with the module can similarly be customized sothat a customized GUI can be used for facilitating creation of one ormore resource groups.

The functionality established by modules 234, 236 to implement aresource group may be invoked automatically and/or based on inputprovided by a user. For example, to establish a resource group tomonitor the resource 235, an administrator may employ console 212 tocommunicate with agent 232, which in turn invokes the module (e.g.,module 234) that corresponds to the type of resource to be monitored.

A module provides functionality which may be implemented by the consoleto receive information from the administrator in order to create aresource group. Specifically, a module may define functionality forreceiving certain information from the user which is used, inconjunction with other information defined by the module, to create aresource group to monitor the resource. For example, if the user wantsto create a resource group to monitor an Oracle database application,the user may provide an indication via the console (e.g., via a GUIpresented by the console) that this is the case, thereby invoking themodule which corresponds to the Oracle database application. The modulemay define functionality defining specific information that should becollected from the user to create the resource group for this type ofresource, and the module may also include other information that can beused to create the resource group. For example, the administrator maynot need to provide information regarding specific sequences forstopping and starting the Oracle database application, as thisinformation may be defined by the module.

In one embodiment, the module provides a definition file for creating aresource group for a particular resource. Based on information providedby the user, the module may update the definition file to specifyfunctionality related to monitoring the resource. For example, themodule may add information to the definition file based on informationsupplied by the user. The definition file may be utilized by the agent232 to create the resource group.

In conventional systems, when an administrator wants to create aresource group which includes particular resources, the administrator isrequired to provide typewritten input to specify the names of theresources. For example, if the administrator wishes to create a resourcegroup to monitor a service that includes one or more databases, theadministrator is required to type in the names of the particulardatabases. As discussed above, this can cause problems when manuallyentered information is entered improperly. In one embodiment, a processof “specifying” resources and/or characteristics to be included in aresource group may be at least partially automated.

In one embodiment referred to herein as “interactive discovery,” theagent may determine one or more candidate resources or characteristics,and present them to an administrator for selection. For example, if anadministrator specifies that a particular service that includes severaldatabases should be monitored, functionality defined by a modulecorresponding to the service may be invoked to determine the databasesthat are included in the service, so that a list of these databases maybe presented to the administrator. The administrator then may select thedatabases which are to be included in the resource group from the list.This reduces the likelihood that the administrator will make an error inspecifying the databases which are to be included in the resource group.

In another embodiment, some aspects of the discovery process can beautomated completely, so that one or more resources and/orcharacteristics may be determined without any administrator input. Forexample, if an administrator specifies that a database application is tobe monitored, the agent may automatically determine the device (e.g.,the IP address of a node) on which the database application executes,without requiring any administrator input. Characteristics such as this(i.e., for which only a single option exists, so user selection is notrequired) may be determined automatically. For example, resources and/orcharacteristics which may be automatically discovered include (but arenot limited to) a NETBIOS or NETBEUI identifier for a node, one or moredatabases which form part of a service, one or more processes and/orservices which execute on a node (e.g., a server), one or more installedapplications and/or the configuration parameters associated therewith(e.g., the location or path at which the applications are installed),the storage devices, file systems or volumes which are available to aresource, the configuration of a device (e.g., CPU speed and/or model,the devices which are coupled to a node, and the network interfacesemployed by one or more nodes and the settings associated therewith.

Any suitable resources and/or characteristics may be discovered, eitherinteractively or automatically. For example, discovery may be performedto determine the application processes that comprise a service, a pathor other location from which a resource executes, the storage device(s)attached to a particular node, a network information card (NIC) for adevice, or any other device identifier (e.g., a NETBEUI or NETBIOSidentifier). The invention is not limited in this respect, as anysuitable resource and/or characteristic may be discovered. Further, inone embodiment, a process which includes discovery of resources and/orcharacteristics (e.g., a process executed to create a resource group)may include both automatic and interactive discovery. For example, aprocess performed to create a resource group may include the interactivediscovery and selection of a particular resource and the automaticdiscovery of a characteristic of that resource. Functionality definingwhether automatic and/or interactive discovery is performed to determinea particular resource and/or characteristic may be defined in anysuitable way. In one embodiment, this functionality is defined by amodule for the relevant type of resource.

Although interactive and automatic discovery can be employed togetherand provide the advantages described herein, it should be appreciatedthat the invention is not limited to employing these techniquestogether, as either can be used separately. Also, it should beappreciated that some aspects of the present invention are independentof the discovery process, so that some embodiments need not employeither interactive or automatic discovery.

As discussed above, in one embodiment a module may include code which isexecuted by the agent to create a resource group for monitoring one ormore resources. FIG. 3 shows a process 300 for creating a resource groupaccording to functionality defined by a module, wherein one or morecharacteristics of the resource may be discovered automatically and/orinteractively.

The process 300 includes acts (shown on the left-hand side of FIG. 3)performed by a console (e.g., console 212, which may function in partbased on input received from a user) and acts (shown on the right-handside of FIG. 3) performed by an agent (e.g., agent 232), as well ascommunication passing therebetween. The process 300 includes theselection of one or more resources to be included in a resource group,the determination of characteristics for each selected resource, andupdates to a definition file to define resource group.

Initially, the process proceeds to act 310, wherein the console issues arequest to the agent to create a resource group. This request may bebased, for example, on input provided by a user to a GUI provided by theconsole, and may be communicated to the agent via a network (e.g.,network 220, FIG. 2).

The request is received by the agent at act 315. The agent may accessfunctionality defined by a module which corresponds to the type ofresource identified by the request. For example, the agent 232 mayinvoke functionality provided by module 234 (FIG. 2), which maycorrespond to resource 235. A logical relationship between a resourceand a module may be established when a module is made accessible to theagent (e.g., when a module is installed on the device on which the agentexecutes). For example, the installation of the module for a type ofresource may cause the agent to be configured to automatically retrievefunctionality provided by the module when a request is received tocreate a resource group to monitor that type of resource.

Upon the completion of act 315, the process proceeds to the act 320,wherein the agent generates a list of all of the resource(s) on thedevice(s) monitored by the agent that fit the profile of the resourceidentified in the request, and sends the list to the console. Theresources included in the list may be identified using any suitabletechnique. For example, the agent may execute code provided by themodule to discover the resources which fit the profile of the resourceidentified in the request.

The list of resources sent by the agent in act 320 is received at theconsole in act 325.

In one embodiment, the list is presented to the user via a GUI providedby the console.

The process then proceeds to act 330, wherein a user selects one or moreresources from the list for inclusion in the resource group, and thisindication is sent to the agent. The user may select the resource(s) forinclusion in the resource group in any suitable manner (e.g., via a GUIprovided by the console).

The agent receives the selection in act 335, and creates a definitionfile for the resource group. As discussed above, upon its completion,the definition file may define parameters for creating the resourcegroup, and may be employed by the agent in the execution of a programmedprocedure to create the resource group. In one embodiment, the agent mayinvoke functionality defined by the module that corresponds to theselected resource type to create the definition file for the resourcegroup.

The process then proceeds to the act 340, wherein the agent seeks toautomatically discover one or more characteristics of the selectedresource that may be capable of automatic discovery. As discussed above,the act 340 may include determining one or more determinative resourcecharacteristics. For example, the agent may automatically discover apath from which a selected resource executes, or the IP address of anode on which a resource resides. Automatic discovery may be performedas many times as is necessary to determine the characteristics of theselected resource that is capable of being automatically discovered. Forexample, if four separate characteristics of a resource are capable ofbeing automatically determined, in one embodiment the agent willautomatically discover all four characteristics in the act 340. Ofcourse, it should be appreciated that the automatic discovery aspect ofthe present invention is not limited in this respect, as merely a subsetof the characteristics capable of automatic discovery may beautomatically discovered in act 340.

Upon the completion of the act 340, the process proceeds to the act 345,wherein the agent updates or makes one or more edits to the definitionfile for the resource group based on the characteristic(s) discovered inthe act 340.

The process then proceeds to act 350, wherein the process determinerswhether any information is desired of the console (e.g., user) tocomplete the definition file for the resource group, and if so, arequest is issued to the console for input to define any suchcharacteristics. For example, as discussed above, the agent may createand send a list from which the user may select to define desiredcharacteristics. For example, the agent may identify a list of storagedevices which could store data for a selected database applicationresource, and send the list to the console, such that the user mayselect the appropriate device(s). Although not shown in FIG. 3, if it isdetermined in act 350 that no additional information is needed from theuser for the specified resource, the process proceeds to act 375.

The request sent by the agent in act 350 is received at the console inact 355. Much in the manner discussed above in connection with act 325,the console may request the desired information from the user in anysuitable way (e.g., using a GUI to present a list of selection optionsto the user).

In act 360, the console (e.g., through a user) selects from theinformation provided by the agent, to define the characteristics for theselected resource, and sends the selected information back to the agent.It should be appreciated that rather than providing a list to the userto choose from in act 360, other techniques can be employed forobtaining information from the user (e.g., having the user type ininformation), as the present invention is not limited in this respect.

In act 365, the agent receives the information transmitted in act 360,and updates the definition file which was created for the resource groupin act 335 based on the received information.

Upon the completion of act 365, the process proceeds to act 370, whereina determination is made as to whether more information is needed todefine the resource group for the selected resource. When it isdetermined in the act 370 that more information is required, the processreturns to the act 340. Thus, acts 340-365 may be repeated as many timesas needed until it is determined at act 370 that all of the informationneeded to define the resource group for the selected resource has beenobtained.

When it is determined in act 370 that no more information is required todefine the resource, the process proceeds to act 375, wherein the agentmakes a determination as to whether there are more resources to beincluded in the resource group to be processed. This can be done in anysuitable way. For example, while not shown in FIG. 3, the user may bequeried to determine whether additional resources should be added to theresource group. When it is determined that there are more resources tobe included in the resource group, the process returns to the act 320.Thus, acts 320-365 repeated for each resource until it is determinedthat all of the relevant information for all of the resources in thegroup have been obtained and inserted into the definition file.

At that point, the process proceeds to the act 380, wherein the resourcegroup is finalized, and the process terminates.

In one embodiment, the agent may finalize the resource group bycompleting the definition file for the resource group, and utilizing thedefinition file in a programmed procedure which creates the resourcegroup.

As discussed above, in one embodiment, the agent stores informationregarding the actions taken to create the resource group, such that theentities which collectively represent the resource group may later beidentified so that they may be modified and/or deleted, if desired.

In the embodiment described above in connection with FIG. 3, a resourcegroup is defined by a definition file. However, it should be appreciatedthat the present invention is not limited in this respect, as a resourcegroup may be defined in any suitable manner.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that the specific process shown inFIG. 3 is merely one process that may be used to implement aspects ofthe present invention, as numerous alternative implementations arepossible.

A resource group created in accordance with embodiments of the inventionmay define any attribute related to monitoring and/or controlling aresource. For example, a resource group established to monitor adatabase application may specify stop and start sequences for theapplication as well as devices on which the application is installed,such that if the application begins to behave anomalously on one device,the system can shut down the application on the first device and startthe application on another device so as to continue the availability ofthe application to an end user. A resource group may also definespecific actions to be taken to inform a user that an event affecting amonitored resource has occurred. For example, a resource group mayprovide for informing an administrator via email that a databaseapplication has reached a threshold application rate.

As discussed above, in one embodiment, a validation process is performedduring the creation of a new resource group, such that the creation ofan invalid resource group is prevented. In one embodiment, validationmay be performed as each resource and/or characteristic included in theresource group is specified by a user, as shown in the process 400depicted in FIG. 4.

The process of FIG. 4 begins in act 410 when a user specifies a resourceor characteristic. A user may specify a resource or characteristic byproviding input to a GUI presented by console 212 (FIG. 2), or in anyother suitable manner.

The process then proceeds to act 420, wherein a determination is made asto whether the resource or characteristic specified by the user isvalid. This may be done in any suitable fashion, as the invention is notlimited in this respect. As described above, in one embodiment,discovery may assist with validating a resource or characteristic, suchas by determining the resource or characteristic automatically (i.e., aswith automatic discovery) so that the validity of the resource orcharacteristic is ensured, or by presenting only valid resources orcharacteristics to a user for selection (i.e., as with interactivediscovery). However, the invention is not limited to validating resourcecharacteristics via discovery, as validation may occur in any suitablefashion.

When it is determined that the resource or characteristic specified inact 420 is valid, the process proceeds to act 430, wherein the validatedresource or characteristic is incorporated into a resource group in anysuitable manner, including through the use of the process of FIG. 3.When it is determined in act 420 that the resource or characteristic isnot valid, the process proceeds to act 440, wherein the request isdenied. In one embodiment, the denial may include providing feedback tothe user of the denial.

As mentioned above, when the above-described interactive and/orautomatic discovery techniques are employed, the user's selections areself-validating, as the user is only presented with valid selectionchoices.

As discussed above, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention,a previously defined resource group may be modified or deleted. This canbe done in any of numerous ways. For example, modification or deletionof a resource group may occur based on input provided by the user, asshown by the process 500 depicted in FIG. 5.

Initially, in act 510, one or more entities in the resource group areidentified to be modified or deleted. This can be done, for example,based upon input from a user.

The process then proceeds to act 520, wherein the identified entitiesare modified or deleted. This may occur in any suitable manner. Forexample, in one embodiment, when a resource group is created,information can be stored in a manner which logically relates theinformation that defines and/or implements a resource group. Theinformation can be stored and modified in any suitable way. For example,the information can be stored in a data structure, and a user may employa text editor to make the desired change.

In an alternate embodiment, modification of a resource group may beperformed as a result of a variation of the discovery processesdescribed above. Specifically, the system may be configured toautomatically discover, without prompting from a user, when a resourceand/or characteristic which is reflected in a resource group has changedso that the resource group may be updated. For example, the system maybe configured to examine one or more monitored resources upon theoccurrence of an event (such as the startup of the agent, or any othersuitable event). As an example, the system may be configured to discoverthat a new database has been added to a monitored service. The systemmay be configured to automatically modify a resource group toaccommodate the changed resource or characteristic, ask a user whetherthe resource group should be modified to accommodate the changedresource or characteristic, or respond in any other fashion.

As discussed above, one embodiment supports the creation of a resourcegroup in which multiple instances of a particular type of a resource canbe installed and configured differently on two or more devices. Forexample, a database application may be installed at different paths oneach device. An example of such a system is shown in FIG. 6, which issimilar in many respects to FIG. 2. However, the device 230 shown inFIG. 2, and components resident thereon, have been replaced bycomponents having the same reference numerals as those shown in FIG. 2,but with a suffix of A or B. Thus, device 230 is replaced by devices230A and 230B, agent 232 is replaced by agents 232A and 232B, module 234is replaced by modules 234A and 234B, and so on. Most notably, resource235 in FIG. 2 is replaced by resource instances 235A and 235B in FIG. 6.Resource instances 235A-235B are representations of resource 235 ondevices 230A and 230B, respectively.

Agents 232A and 232B have been installed on devices 230A and 230B,respectively, and each is in communication via network 220 with console212. In addition, modules 234A and 234B have been installed on devices230A and 230B and are accessible to agents 232A and 232B, respectively.On each of devices 230A and 230B are locations 250, 260, and 270. Ondevice 230A, resource 235A resides in location 250A, while on device230B, resource 235B resides in location 260B.

A resource group may be created for the system of FIG. 6, which includesresource instances 235A and 235B residing in locations 250A and 260B,respectively. Such a resource group may be created, for example, usingthe process 300, described above with reference to FIG. 3, or in anyother suitable way. For example, the automatic and/or interactivediscovery processes performed as part of process 300 may determine thatresource instance 235A is located in location 250A and that resourceinstance 235B is located in location 260B, such that a definition filecreated for a resource group that includes resource instances 235A-235Bprovides for the different configurations (e.g., locations) of theresource on each device. In one embodiment, the definition file may beemployed by the agent (e.g., either of agents 232A or 232B) to create aresource group which includes parameters for the resource which arespecific to each device. For example, the resource group may include afirst set of parameters (e.g., provided in a first data structure) whichdefine the configuration of the resource (e.g., resource instance 235A)on a first device (e.g., device 230A), and a second set of parameters(e.g., provided in a second data structure) which define theconfiguration of the resource (e.g., resource instance 235B) on thesecond device (e.g., device 230B).

In one embodiment, a resource group may be defined by a set ofparameters which define node-specific aspects of the resource group(which can vary from node to node), as well as parameters which definenode-independent aspects of the resource group. For example, a resourcegroup for a database application may include one or more sets ofdevice-specific parameters such as the path at which the application isinstalled and/or the IP address of the device, and a set ofdevice-independent parameters such as the names of the listener andproxy processes for the application.

It should be appreciated that the embodiment of the invention thatenables differently configured instances of a resource to be monitoredin a same resource group provides flexibility, so that, for example,administrators need not install an application at the same path locationon different devices.

In another embodiment of the invention, the console presents a GUIhaving one or more display portions that each corresponds to a moduleaccessible to the agent for creating a resource group for a certain typeof resource. In one embodiment, newly installed modules areautomatically discovered, so that the GUI can be updated to recognizethe newly installed module. This can be done in any of numerous ways. Inone embodiment, the agent may, for example, detect the installation ofone or more new modules, and inform the console that the new modules arepresent. Based on this information, the console may cause the GUI to bemodified to accommodate the new module(s).

FIG. 7 shows an exemplary system configuration for presenting a GUIwhich is customized according to the collection of modules installed onthe system. FIG. 7 also represents a variation on the configuration ofFIG. 2, wherein both a new module and an updated version of a previouslyinstalled module have been installed on the device 230. Specifically,module 238 has been installed on the device 230 to replace an earlierversion of the same module (i.e., module 236), and module 242 has beenadded to the device 230. The system of FIG. 7 also includes a GUI 213which is presented by console 212. GUI 213 includes display portions215, 217 and 219, which each may display information related to aspecific resource group. For example, display portions 215, 217 and 219may each display information related to creating a resource group for aspecific type of resource. Display portions 215, 217 and 219 may takeany suitable graphical form, such as a panel or tabbed display.

Upon the installation of modules 238 and 242, their presence may bedetermined by agent 232 upon the occurrence of an event, such as theinitialization of agent 232. The presence of modules 238 and 242 may becommunicated to console 212. For example, the system may be configuredsuch that initialization of console 212 may include an act of queryingagent 232 to determine whether a new module or module version has beeninstalled.

New modules 238 and 242 may each specify instructions and/or parametersto other system components, such as GUI 213. Specifically, modules 238and 242 may specify instructions to GUI 213 to include display portions217 and 219, such that display portion 217 presents information definedby module 238 and display portion 219 presents information defined bymodule 242. The instructions and/or parameters specified by new modules238 and 242 may be in addition to instructions and/or parametersprovided by module 234 to GUI 213 for display portion 215, such thatdisplay portion 215 presents information defined by module 234.

As should be appreciated from the foregoing, according to one embodimentof the invention, the GUI 213 presented to the user for creation of aresource group may not be the same on all systems, and may be customizeddepending on the modules installed on the system. The customized GUI candiffer for the different resource groups supported thereby (e.g., thecustomized GUIs can differ in the information they request from the userwhen configuring different types of resource groups).

In one embodiment, each of display portions 215, 217 and 219 may enablea user to provide an indication that a resource group should be createdfor a particular type of resource. For example, in one embodiment, auser may supply a command via display portion 215 to create a resourcegroup for resource 235, and the command may be communicated to agent232, which may access functionality defined by the module correspondingto the resource (i.e., module 234). The functionality provided by module234 may include instructions to GUI 213 to modify display portion 215,such as to gather information from the user related to the creation ofthe resource group. For example, module 234 may provide instructions toGUI 213 to present a “wizard” interface to the user which allows theuser to specify configuration parameters for the resource group. Forexample, the wizard interface may present a list of resourcecharacteristics determined through an interactive discovery process likethat described above with reference to FIG. 3, such that the user mayselect from the list to define the configuration parameters included inthe resource group.

In another embodiment, GUI 213 may present information related tomonitoring one or more resource groups which have already been created.This monitoring GUI may be the same GUI or different from the creationGUI described above, as the invention is not limited in this respect.For example, GUI 213 may present information related to monitoring aresource group which includes a database application, such as theapplication's transaction rate and/or the load it places on the CPU.Information related to monitoring a resource group may be presented inany suitable fashion. For example, in one embodiment, GUI 213 mayinclude one or more separate display portions (not shown in FIG. 7),such as panels, which each may present information related to monitoringa particular resource group. For example, if two resource groups existto monitor two separate Oracle databases, the GUI 213 may presentseparate panels that each shows information related to monitoring one ofthe databases. In addition, each panel may show information which isspecific to its corresponding database, such that, for example, thefirst panel may show information related to a process which is executedonly by the first database, and the second panel may show informationrelated to a process which is executed only by the second database.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the GUI 213 which ispresented to a user for monitoring a resource group may not be the sameon all systems, and may be customized depending on the modules installedon the system. For example, if a first resource group has been createdto monitor an Oracle database and a second resource group has beencreated to monitor a SQL database, the GUI 213 may present a firstdisplay portion showing information related to monitoring the Oracledatabase and a second display portion showing information related tomonitoring the SQL database. For example, the first display portion maydisplay information related to Oracle-specific processes, and the seconddisplay portion may display information related to SQL-specificprocesses.

In one embodiment, each display portion presents summary-levelinformation for a resource group, and also allows a user to requestfurther information related to the resource group. For example, a firstpanel showing summary-level information for a database application maypresent the application's current transaction rate, and may enable auser to request information (e.g., presented in another panel) such aschanges in the application's transaction rate over time.

As should be appreciated from the foregoing, there are numerous aspectsof the present invention described herein that can be used independentlyof one another. However, it should also be appreciated that in someembodiments, all of the above-described features can be used together,or any combination or subset of the features described above can also beemployed together in a particular implementation, as the aspects of thepresent invention are not limited in this respect.

The above-described embodiments of the present invention can beimplemented in any of numerous ways. For example, the embodiments may beimplemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, the software code can be executed on anysuitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in asingle computer or distributed among multiple computers. It should beappreciated that any component or collection of components that performthe functions described above can be generically considered as one ormore controllers that control the above-discussed function. The one ormore controllers can be implemented in numerous ways, such as withdedicated hardware, or with general purpose hardware (e.g., one or moreprocessors) that is programmed using microcode or software to performthe functions recited above.

It should be appreciated that the various methods outlined herein may becoded as software that is executable on one or more processors thatemploy any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms.Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number ofsuitable programming languages and/or conventional programming orscripting tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine languagecode. In this respect, it should be appreciated that one embodiment ofthe invention is directed to a computer-readable medium (or multiplecomputer-readable media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppydisks, compact disks, optical disks, magnetic tapes, etc.) encoded withone or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers orother processors, perform methods that implement the various embodimentsof the invention discussed above. The computer-readable medium or mediacan be transportable, such the program or programs stored thereon can beloaded onto one or more different computers or other processors toimplement various aspects of the present invention as discussed above.

It should be understood that the term “program” is used herein in ageneric sense to refer to any type of computer code or set ofinstructions that can be employed to program a computer or otherprocessor to implement various aspects of the present invention asdiscussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that accordingto one aspect of this embodiment, one or more computer programs thatwhen executed perform methods of the present invention need not resideon a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modularfashion amongst a number of different computers or processors toimplement various aspects of the present invention.

Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, incombination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussedin the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore notlimited in its application to the details and arrangement of componentsset forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings.The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced orof being carried out in various ways. In particular, various aspects ofthe present invention may be implemented in connection with any type ofnetwork, cluster or configuration. No limitations are placed on thenetwork implementation. Accordingly, the foregoing description anddrawings are by way of example only.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of“including,” “comprising,” or “having,” “containing,” “involving,” andvariations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listedthereafter and equivalent thereof as well as additional items.

1. In a computer system comprising a plurality of resources, anautomatic availability manager (AAM) for monitoring at least some of theplurality of resources, and an agent to configure resource groups, eachresource group specifying a group of resources to be monitored by theAAM, a method comprising: (A) in response to a request from a requester,received by the agent, to configure at least a portion of a resourcegroup, the request specifying at least one parameter of the at least aportion of the resource group, the at least one parameter identifying atleast one service and/or at least one application to be included in theresource group, determining at least one characteristic of the at leastone service and/or the at least one application that satisfies the atleast one parameter; and (B) presenting to the requestor the at leastone characteristic determined in (A) to satisfy the at least oneparameter, wherein the at least one characteristic is selected from agroup consisting of: a location in the computer system of the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; a device on which theat least one service and/or the at least one application executes; atleast one database associated with the at least one service and/or theat least one application; at least one service or process associatedwith the at least one service and/or the at least one application; alocation in the computer system of at least one service or processassociated with the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; at least one storage device available to the at least oneservice and/or the at least one application; at least one file systemavailable to the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; at least one storage volume available to the at least oneservice and/or the at least one application; a configuration of the atleast one service and/or the at least one application; and a networkinterface employed by the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastcharacteristic of at least one of the resources determined in (A)comprises an identifier for at least one of the resources.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein (A) comprises determining all of the characteristicsof the plurality of resources that satisfy the at least one parameter;and wherein (B) comprises presenting to the requestor all of thecharacteristics determined in (A) to satisfy the at least one parameter.4. The method of claim 1, further comprising (C) in response to therequester selecting at least one selected characteristic from the atleast one characteristic presented in (B), adding the selected at leastone characteristic to a configuration of the requested resource group.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one characteristiccomprises a service or process associated with at least one of theplurality of resources.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone characteristic comprises an identifier for a location in thecomputer system of at least one service or process associated with atleast one of the plurality of resources.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the at least one characteristic comprises a data set associatedwith at least one service or process associated with at least one of theplurality of resources.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the at leastone characteristic comprises an identifier of at least one computerdevice in the computer system that stores data or executes a service orprocess associated with at least one of the plurality of resources. 9.The method of claim 1, wherein (A) and (B) are performed by the agent.10. The method of claim 9, wherein the agent executes on at least onefirst computer in the computer system, and wherein the agent determinesat least one characteristic that is local to the first computer andsatisfies the at least one parameter.
 11. The method of claim 9, whereinthe agent executes on at least one first computer in the computersystem, and wherein the agent determines at least one characteristicthat is remote from the first computer and satisfies the at least oneparameter.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitor is anautomatic availability manager.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theagent comprises part of the automatic availability manager.
 14. In acomputer system comprising a plurality of resources, an automaticavailability manager (AAM) for monitoring at least some of the pluralityof resources, and an agent to configure resource groups, each resourcegroup specifying a group of resources to be monitored by the AAM, amethod of configuring at least a portion of a resource group,comprising: (A) providing a request to the agent to configure the atleast a portion of a resource group, the request specifying at least oneparameter of the at least a portion of the resource group, the at leastone parameter identifying at least one service and/or at least oneapplication to be included in the resource group; (B) receiving from theagent a list comprising at least one characteristic determined by theagent to satisfy the at least one parameter, the at least onecharacteristic being selected from a group consisting of: a location inthe computer system of the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; a device on which the at least one service and/or the atleast one application executes; at least one database associated withthe at least one service and/or the at least one application; at leastone service or process associated with the at least one service and/orthe at least one application; a location in the computer system of atleast one service or process associated with the at least one serviceand/or the at least one application; at least one storage deviceavailable to the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; at least one file system available to the at least oneservice and/or the at least one application; at least one storage volumeavailable to the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; a configuration of the at least one service and/or the atleast one application; and a network interface employed by the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; and (C) selecting fromthe list a selected at least one characteristic for inclusion in aconfiguration of the at least a portion of the resource group.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the at least characteristic of at least oneof the resources selected in (C) comprises an identifier for at leastone of the resources.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein (B) comprisesreceiving from the agent a list comprising all of the characteristics ofthe plurality of resources that satisfy the at least one parameter. 17.The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one characteristic selectedin (C) comprises a service or process associated with at least one ofthe plurality of resources.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the atleast one characteristic selected in (C) comprises an identifier for alocation in the computer system of at least one service or processassociated with at least one of the plurality of resources.
 19. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the at least one characteristic selected in(C) comprises a data set associated with at least one service or processassociated with at least one of the plurality of resources.
 20. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the at least one characteristic selected in(C) comprises an identifier of at least one computer device in thecomputer system that stores data or executes a service or processassociated with at least one of the plurality of resources.
 21. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the monitor is an automatic availabilitymanager.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the agent comprises part ofthe automatic availability manager.
 23. A computer-readable mediumhaving instructions encoded thereon, which instructions, when executedin a computer system comprising a plurality of resources, an automaticavailability manager (AAM) for monitoring at least some of the pluralityof resources, and an agent to configure resource groups, each resourcegroup specifying a group of resources to be monitored by the AAM,perform a method comprising: (A) in response to a request from arequester, received by the agent, to configure at least a portion of aresource group, the request specifying at least one parameter of the atleast a portion of the resource group, the at least one parameteridentifying at least one service and/or at least one application to beincluded in the resource group, determining at least one characteristicof the at least one service and/or the at least one application thatsatisfies the at least one parameter; and (B) presenting to therequestor the at least one characteristic determined in (A) to satisfythe at least one parameter, wherein the at least one characteristic isselected from a group consisting of: a location in the computer systemof the at least one service and/or the at least one application; adevice on which the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication executes; at least one database associated with the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; at least one service orprocess associated with the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; a location in the computer system of at least one serviceor process associated with the at least one service and/or the at leastone application; at least one storage device available to the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; at least one filesystem available to the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; at least one storage volume available to the at least oneservice and/or the at least one application; a configuration of the atleast one service and/or the at least one application; and a networkinterface employed by the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication.
 24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein theat least characteristic of at least one of the resources determined in(A) comprises an identifier for at least one of the resources.
 25. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein (A) comprises determiningall of the characteristics of the plurality of resources that satisfythe at least one parameter; and wherein (B) comprises presenting to therequestor all of the characteristics determined in (A) to satisfy the atleast one parameter.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim 23,further comprising (C) in response to the requestor selecting at leastone selected characteristic from the at least one characteristicpresented in (B), adding the selected at least one characteristic to aconfiguration of the requested resource group.
 27. The computer-readablemedium of claim 23, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises aservice or process associated with at least one of the plurality ofresources.
 28. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the atleast one characteristic comprises an identifier for a location in thecomputer system of at least one service or process associated with atleast one of the plurality of resources.
 29. The computer-readablemedium of claim 23, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises adata set associated with at least one service or process associated withat least one of the plurality of resources.
 30. The computer-readablemedium of claim 23, wherein the at least one characteristic comprises anidentifier of at least one computer device in the computer system thatstores data or executes a service or process associated with at leastone of the plurality of resources.
 31. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 23, wherein (A) and (B) are performed by the agent.
 32. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the agent executes on atleast one first computer in the computer system, and wherein the agentdetermines at least one characteristic that is local to the firstcomputer and satisfies the at least one parameter.
 33. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the agent executes on atleast one first computer in the computer system, and wherein the agentdetermines at least one characteristic that is remote from the firstcomputer and satisfies the at least one parameter.
 34. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein the monitor is anautomatic availability manager.
 35. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 34, wherein the agent comprises part of the automatic availabilitymanager.
 36. A computer-readable medium having instructions encodedthereon, which instructions, when executed in a computer systemcomprising a plurality of resources, an automatic availability manager(AAM) for monitoring at least some of the plurality of resources, and anagent to configure resource groups, each resource group specifying agroup of resources to be monitored by the AAM, perform a method ofconfiguring at least a portion of a resource group, comprising: (A)providing a request to the agent to configure the at least a portion ofa resource group, the request specifying at least one parameter of theat least a portion of the resource group, the at least one parameteridentifying at least one service and/or at least one application to beincluded in the resource group; (B) receiving from the agent a listcomprising at least one characteristic determined by the agent tosatisfy the at least one parameter, the at least one characteristicbeing selected from a group consisting of: a location in the computersystem of the at least one service and/or the at least one application;a device on which the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication executes; at least one database associated with the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; at least one service orprocess associated with the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; a location in the computer system of at least one serviceor process associated with the at least one service and/or the at leastone application; at least one storage device available to the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; at least one filesystem available to the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; at least one storage volume available to the at least oneservice and/or the at least one application; a configuration of the atleast one service and/or the at least one application; and a networkinterface employed by the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; and (C) selecting from the list a selected at least onecharacteristic for inclusion in a configuration of the at least aportion of the resource group.
 37. The computer-readable medium of claim36, wherein the at least characteristic of at least one of the resourcesselected in (C) comprises an identifier for at least one of theresources.
 38. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein (B)comprises receiving from the agent a list comprising all of thecharacteristics of the plurality of resources that satisfy the at leastone parameter.
 39. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein theat least one characteristic selected in (C) comprises a service orprocess associated with at least one of the plurality of resources. 40.The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the at least onecharacteristic selected in (C) comprises an identifier for a location inthe computer system of at least one service or process associated withat least one of the plurality of resources.
 41. The computer-readablemedium of claim 36, wherein the at least one characteristic selected in(C) comprises a data set associated with at least one service or processassociated with at least one of the plurality of resources.
 42. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the at least onecharacteristic selected in (C) comprises an identifier of at least onecomputer device in the computer system that stores data or executes aservice or process associated with at least one of the plurality ofresources.
 43. The computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein themonitor is an automatic availability manager.
 44. The computer-readablemedium of claim 43, wherein the agent comprises part of the automaticavailability manager.
 45. A console for use in a computer systemcomprising a plurality of resources, an automatic availability manager(AAM) for monitoring at least some of the plurality of resources, and anagent to configure resource groups, each resource group specifying agroup of resources to be monitored by the AAM, the console comprising: adetermination controller that, in response to a request from arequestor, received by the agent, to configure at least a portion of aresource group, the request specifying at least one parameter of the atleast a portion of the resource group, the at least one parameteridentifying at least one service and/or at least one application to beincluded in the resource group, determines at least one characteristicof the at least one service and/or the at least one application thatsatisfies the at least one parameter; and a presentation controller thatpresents to the requester the at least one characteristic to satisfy theat least one parameter, wherein the at least one characteristic isselected from a group consisting of: a location in the computer systemof the at least one service and/or the at least one application; adevice on which the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication executes; at least one database associated with the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; at least one service orprocess associated with the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; a location in the computer system of at least one serviceor process associated with the at least one service and/or the at leastone application; at least one storage device available to the at leastone service and/or the at least one application; at least one filesystem available to the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication; at least one storage volume available to the at least oneservice and/or the at least one application; a configuration of the atleast one service and/or the at least one application; and a networkinterface employed by the at least one service and/or the at least oneapplication.
 46. The console of claim 45, wherein the at leastcharacteristic of at least one of the resources comprises an identifierfor at least one of the resources.
 47. The console of claim 45, whereinthe determination controller further determines all of thecharacteristics of the plurality of resources that satisfy the at leastone parameter, and wherein the presentation controller further presentsto the requestor all of the characteristics determined by thedetermination controller to satisfy the at least one parameter.
 48. Theconsole of claim 45, further comprising: a configuration controllerthat, in response to the requestor selecting at least one selectedcharacteristic from the at least one characteristic presented by thepresentation controller, adds the selected at least one characteristicto a configuration of the requested resource group.
 49. The console ofclaim 45, wherein the at least one characteristic determined by thedetermination controller comprises a service or process associated withat least one of the plurality of resources.
 50. The console of claim 45,wherein the at least one characteristic determined by the determinationcontroller comprises an identifier for a location in the computer systemof at least one service or process associated with at least one of theplurality of resources.
 51. The console of claim 45, wherein the atleast one characteristic determined by the determination controllercomprises a data set associated with at least one service or processassociated with at least one of the plurality of resources.
 52. Theconsole of claim 45, wherein the at least one characteristic determinedby the determination controller comprises an identifier of at least onecomputer device in the computer system that stores data or executes aservice or process associated with at least one of the plurality ofresources.